Woman insulted by Waterloo police after attempt to save dogs from hot car

(KMOV) – A Waterloo woman says she was attempting to save dogs from a hot car when she ended up getting humiliated by police.

Becky Timpe tried to help after she noticed two dogs locked inside a van with no ventilation on Wednesday.

She called 911 and attempted to open a door for the dogs to get some fresh air. The arriving officers accused her of breaking into the vehicle and threatened to arrest her.

“To think, that can happen to somebody when they’re just trying to help out some animals in a van. I had no intention of breaking in. I had no intention of stealing anything. It was the last thing on my mind,” Timpe said of the accusations.

The van’s owner did not press charges but when Timpe went to Waterloo Police Headquarters to file complaints, she met Police Chief Jim Trantham.

On a surveillance video of the incident, the chief can be heard yelling “See you at church on Sunday, love you, stupid b****” at Timpe.

He can be heard yelling several other inappropriate things to the woman before she left.

When News 4’s Chris Stanford attempted to talk to the chief, he refused to be interviewed.

Stanford showed the video to Waterloo Mayor Smith.

The mayor did admit the chief’s language was uncalled for and he plans to sit down with Chief Trantham.